PCS delivers post-merger update at exec seminar

Northwestern Financial Review, Jul 1-Jul 14, 2004 by Bengtson, Tom

More than 200 bankers got the opportunity to meet the new president of Precision Computer Systems at the company's 15th annual executive seminar conducted June 7 in Sioux Falls, S.D. Mark Blankespoor is a 19-year veteran of the Sioux Falls-based company who became president earlier this year when company founder Bruce Christensen retired. Christensen had been president of the company since it started 22 years ago.

Lincoln, Neb.-based Information Technology, Inc., purchased Precision Computer Systems in spring 2003. With the new ownership more than a year in place, Blankespoor used his address to reassure bankers about the company's commitment to providing core processing software for financial institutions.

"What's made us successful in the past will continue," said Blankespoor in an interview. "It is our focus on customer service, our corporate culture and our technology."

Blankespoor worked for 16 years as a programmer, developing the company's products. Most recently, he has served as chief operating officer.

He said the company is in a "growth mode" and that customers seem pleased by the combination of products offered by Precision Computer Systems and Information Technology, Inc. Each company has its own sales force serving existing customers. The sales forces at the two companies prospecting for new business have been combined.

Blankespoor said Precision Computer Systems has 752 customers in 37 states, up from 730 customers that were reported a year ago at the seminar. The company's main campus in Sioux Falls is getting a 19,000-square-foot addition to accommodate growth and additional training needs. The company's Resource Management Division, purchased by PCS in late 2002, is also getting an expansion. A 7,800-square-foot facility is set to go up at the division's offices in La Crosse, Wis. The Resource Management Division offers core processing services for financial institutions that prefer to outsource the service. Blankespoor said it has about a dozen clients.

Precision Computer Systems also is developing its Specialized Services Division, which currently is servicing two banks, both multi-billion-dollar institutions. Blankespoor said that despite the company's interest in marketing to large institutions, small- and medium-size community banks remain the company's core constituency.

The executive seminar, which attracted its largest crowd ever, featured several breakout sessions in addition to a motivational presentation by former professional baseball player Jim Bouton. Many bankers also participated in a Precision Computer Systems-sponsored golf outing on June 8. Christensen, who returned to the seminar from his retirement residence in Montana, was on the winning team for the golf event.

By Tom Bengtson